Builder guilty of murder

A builder was today found guilty of bludgeoning three generations of one family to death with an iron bar.

David Morris was convicted by a jury at Swansea Crown Court of murdering Mandy Power, 34, her daughters Katie, 10, and Emily, eight, and Mrs Power's bedridden mother Doris Dawson, 80, in June 1999.

The jury of five women and six men returned a guilty verdict on 40-year-old Morris, of Craig-cefn-parc, in the Swansea Valley, after deliberating for 12 hours following the 11-week trial.

Morris battered lesbian Mandy Power to death in her home in Clydach, near Swansea, south Wales, after she spurned his sexual advances.

He then carried out a frenzied attack on her young children and invalid mother, who were also in the house at the time.

Trial judge Mr Justice Butterfield gave Morris four life sentences.

The defendant stood stony faced as the verdicts were delivered but cries of jubilation from the Dawson family were matched by shouts of anger from Morris' family in the public gallery.

Several members of his family, including his mother Shirley and father Brian, held their faces in their hands as shouts of "bastard" were heard around the court.

Mr Justice Butterfield said to Morris after the verdict: "These were horrific murders committed with great savagery on four defenceless victims.

"You have shown not a trace of compassion or sympathy for the terrible injuries you inflicted."

Justice Butterfield looked directly at Morris and said: "I am sentencing you to four counts of life, one for each charge. Now take him down."

The judge also thanked the jury for the 11 weeks of conscientious attention they had given to the facts of the case.

He said it had been "a deeply harrowing experience" for them and that he would excuse them from jury service for the rest of their lives.

The judge also spoke directly to the family of Mandy Power who were in court throughout the 11 week trial.

He said it was clear from seeing them that they were a "close knit family that had greatly suffered as a result of the tragedy".

He added: "There are no words of mine that could give you any comfort but it is hoped that the conclusion of this trial will help in some way."

Builder David Morris had a reputation for violence which created a climate of fear in the close-knit community he lived in.

Nervous residents in Clydach and Craig-cefn-parc refused to speak out against the powerfully built former scrap metal dealer, even after he was charged with murder.

Key prosecution witnesses shook visibly as they testified against the father-of-three during his trial at Swansea Crown Court.

Jurors got a glimpse of Morris's past when trial judge, Mr Justice Butterfield, ruled that they could be told about almost two dozen previous convictions.

These included a four-year jail term in 1987 for robbery and conspiracy to rob after he hurled an insurance company saleswoman across a car bonnet in a pre-planned attack.

He also had convictions for burglary, theft and actual bodily harm, had been involved in a fist fight in a pub after a funeral, and had hit a victim on the head with a piece of wood during a street fight.

Speaking outside the court later, Mandy Powers's only brother, Robert Dawson, said: "It has been three long and difficult years since mam, Mandy, Katie and Emily were so cruelly taken from us.

"Today we know that the evil person responsible for this will spend the rest of his life behind bars."

Mr Dawson spoke of the "sheer horror" his family had been through and said the guilty verdict would "never be enough" to relieve their pain and loss.

He said: "So many lives were devastated by the horror of that night and the lies and deceit that have so prolonged today's conclusion.

"We are all deeply grateful to those who, with great courage, have come forward with vital information that has helped the police in this difficult case.

"We can never thank the police enough for the help and support they have given to us throughout this case.

"Perhaps now we can begin to come to terms with our loss although our lives will never be the same."

Mr Dawson asked reporters to respect his family's privacy and said the trial had been an "extremely testing time" for them.